Improvement in machines for forging horseshoe-nails



5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. S. PUTNAM. Machine for Forging Horseshoe Nails.

No. 207,444. Patented Aug. 27,1878.

\I H 1.1.. G g

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. S. PUTNAM. Machine for Forging Horseshoe Nails.

Patnted Aug. 27. 1878.

5 SheetsSheet 3.

S. S. PUTNAM. Machine for Forging Horseshoe Nails.

No. 207,444. Patented Aug. 27. 1878.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

S. S. PUTNAM. Machine for Forging Horseshoe Nails.

No. 207,444. Patented Aug. 27. I878.

ig/2f 5 Sheets-Sheet. 5. S. S. PUTNAM.

Machine for Forging Horseshoe Nails.

No. 207,444 Patented Aug. 27,1878

V front elevation of the same.

' angles to each other, in such manner as to d UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

SILAS S. PUTNAM, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE PUTN AM NAILCOMPANY, OF SAME .PLACE.

E IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR FORGING HORSESHOE-NA-ILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 207,444, dated August27, 1678 application filed June 4, 1877.

To all whom it hwy concern: Be it known that I, SILAS S. PUTNAM, of

' Boston, in the county of Sutfolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements in Machines for Making Horseshoe- Nails,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvedmachine; Fig. 1 a detail referred to. Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine.Fig. ,3 is an elevation of one side of the same. Fig. 4 is a Fig. 5 is alongitudinal vertical section through the center of the same. Fig. 6 isa horizontal section on the line a: a: of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a transversevertical section on the line yy of Fig. 3. Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,14, and 15 are details enlarged.

My invention relates to that class of nailmachines in which the nail isformed by means of spring-hammers, arranged and operating in pairs; andconsists in a mechanism of improved construction for locking the sidehammers while open, and preventing them from striking a blow while thenail is being cut off.

My invention also consists in the construction of the mechanism foroperating the guide for the nail-rod, by means of which it is moved toone side, and, after the nail has been severed, returned to its originalposition.

My invention also consists in a mechanism of peculiar construction forchanging at the will of the operator the automatic action of the machinewhile it is in motion, in order to vary the number of blows to which thenail is subjected while being formed.

My'invention also consists in a joint of peculiar construction forconnecting the two rock-shafts of the machine, which are at right l-.minish friction and wear.

My invention also consists in a mechanism for locking and holding thetwo rock-shafts and mechanism connected therewith while the nail isbeing formed by the hammers; and my invention also consists in otherdetails, hereinafter described and claimed.

My invention also consists in the combination, with the hammers, thefaces of which are so constructed asto allow the nail to be formed onone side of and below a line passing centrally between them, the sidehammers being constructed to meet on one side of this central line, andthe vertical hammers below the said line, whereby the amount which thenailrod isbent in the operation of bringing it into line with thecutters and severing the nail therefrom is reduced to a minimum, of thefeed-rolls, guide-lever, and cutters.

To enable others skilled in the art to understaudand use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents the bed of the machine, which issupported on legs I). B is the driving-shaft, which runs in suitablebearings, and carries at one end the drivingpulley O and at the oppositeend a cam-wheel, D. From the bed A rises a frame, E, made in the form ofa cross, the center of which forms being thrown toward each other togive the,

blow by coiled lever-springs g, which are connected with the rear endsof the hammers behind the points where they are pivoted by links h. Eachof the springs gis coiled several times around a cylindrical block, heldin place by .a pin, a, the looped end of the spring being held by thehook of the link h, while the two opposite ends pass through a shortbar, 03, which rests against a screw, k, by turning which the force withwhich the spring is caused to act may be adjusted with a great degree ofnicety, the bar *6 also serving to confine the two ends of the springand hold them in place.

By thus connecting the springs with the hammers at points behind theirpivots instead of in front thereof, they are removed from those portionsof the hammers which become heated from .contact with the hot nail-rod,and the duction between them and the hammers on which they slide of theflying scale from the nail-rod, whichcombines with the oil used forlubricating, and forms a destructive grit.

Each of the hammers is provided with a flat auxiliary spring, I one endof which is secured to the frame E, the opposite end extending out intoa position to be struck by the rear end of the hammera short time beforethe lat ter is drawn back to its full extent, the momentum of thehammers when running at a highspeed being sufficient to assist inbending back the springs; and by the employment of these auxiliarysprings, which remain in contact with and act upon the rear ends of thehammers during a portion. only of their throw, '1 am enabled to use muchlighter mainsprings g than would otherwise be required,

' and thus reduce the friction on the cams and ing in form to that-oftwo sides of the nail,

two sides of the head of which are formed in a vertical groove, 51,one-half of which is made at the outer end of the face of eachside-hammer, so as to leave a space when these hammers arebroughttogether of a width corresponding to that of the head of thenail. Theupper inclined side of the head of the nail is formed in a space leftbetween the beveled outer edge of the face of the lower hammer and thesmooth face of the upper hammer, and the required shape is thus given tothe nail, which is formed as far as possible on one side of a linepassing centrally between the four hammers, to diminish as far aspracticable the amount of lateral movement necessary to be given to therod to bring it into line with the cutters when the finished nail is tobe severed, and the bending of the rod is thus in a great measureavoided. In order that the nail may be thus formed on one side of thecenter, the side hammers G H are necessarily constructed and arranged tomeet on one side of a vertical plane passing centrally through the upperand lower hammers; and these hammers I K are constructed and arranged tomeet on a line below a horizontal plane passing centrally between thefour hammers, and consequently, when the end of the rod is movedlaterally into line with the-cutters, it requires to be bent down a lessdistance to bring it into contact with the edge of the stationary lowercutter (which must necessarily lie beiow the plane of the under surfaceof the side hammers) than would be the case if the nail were formed inthe usual central position.

By thus reducing to aminimum the amount which the rod is bent in theoperations of bringing it into line. with the cutters and severing thenail therefrom, the liability of its being bent out of shape inreturning it to its original position, and the consequent feeding in ofunequal lengths of the rod, which would cause thenails to vary in lengthand be thus rendered unsalable, is entirely avoided.

To'accomplish the object sought-that is, to reduce to a minimum theamount which the nail-rod is bent in the operation of bringing it intoline with the cutters- -I make the curved arm of the upper verticalhammer longer in its curve than the lower arm, as shown in Fig. 1',whereby the faces of the hammers will meet on the line :0 m, below thecenter-lineof the side hammers. .This construction is also illustratedin Fig. 5, where the upper vertical hammer, embracing the larger segmentof the inner curve, meets the machine, as is shown in Fig. 6, wherebythe faces are caused to meet on the line y, and to one side of thecenter of the vertical hammers. 1

m m m m are stationary curved spring-arms, which are secured to thefront of the frame E, each arm being provided at its outer end with aset-screw, 50, which serves as a stop to prevent the adjacent hammerfrom being thrown back too far by its own momentum, and also causes thedirection of motion of the hammer to be instantly reversed after it isreleased by the cam; and by constructin g these arms so as to yieldslightly'the. concussion is greatly diminished.

I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the nail-rod is fedinto the machine.

n p are two horizontal shafts, which run in long bearings q, the ends ofwhich slide in slots in a-frame, L, the shafts being kept apart by thedouble spring 7', and their distance from each other being regulated byscrews 8.

feeding in the same length of rod each time is insured, and it war beseen that the heated rod is cooled less by the contact of the points ofthe teeth than if smooth rolls were employed, as with the latter alarger surface must necessarily be in contact with the heated iron. The

teeth of the wheels u also serve to hold the rod firmly in place whileit is being operated upon by the hammers. The lower shaft, is revolvedintermittingly, so as to produce the feed at the required times, bymeans of a friction-clutch, A, consisting of a lever, t, Fig. 10, whichis pivoted to an arm, 10, applied to the shaft 1) so as to moveindependently thereof, the short arm of the lever '0 being made withtapering sides and fitting into a correspondingly-shaped groove in theperiphery of a collar, to, firmly secured upon the shaft 1).

The lever 'u is operated by a connectingrod, 11, attached to its upperend, the opposite end of the rod b being attached by a screw, 55, andslot 56 to the upper end of an arm or crank, M, secured to a rock-shaft,N, which is supported in bearings rising from the bed A, and is rockedat the required time by mechanism to be hereinafter described; and thusat each forward movement of the rod b the clutch is advanced to takeafresh hold upon the collar a, while each backward movement of the rod bcauses the clutch to turn the shafts up and toothed feed-wheels u asuflicient distance to feed the nail-rod forward the exact amountrequired for the next nail. The arm '10 is held up in the properposition to enable the clutchlever to act on the grooved collar a bymeans of a spring, 16.

c is a wheel attached to the outer end of the shaft 1), and against theperiphery of this wheel bears a spring friction-brake, d, which issecured to the outer end of a stud, '17, and by this means the shaft 1)is prevented from being turned in the wrong direction by thefriction-clutch as it is advanced to take a fresh hold, and is alsoprevented from being moved beyond the proper point by its ownmomentumand that of the parts connected therewith.

The employment of a friction-clutch for operatin g the teed-wheels,instead of a ratchetwheel and paw], enables me to adjust the amount offeed with the utmost nicety by mere- 1 y changing the position of thescrew 55 in the slot 56 of the crank M, which is a great advantage, asit avoids the delay heretofore occasioned in removing one ratchet-wheeland replacing it by another having teeth at a greater or less distanceapart.

I .will now proceed to describe the manner in which the finished nail iscut off after being formed by the hannners.

f are the cutters, the lower one, a, of which is stationary, and issecured within a groove in a block, 9', attached to a standard, P,rising from the bed A, while the upper one, f is attached to one end ofa lever, h, which is secured to a short shaft, 18, having its bearingsin the standard 1 and a support, 19, attached thereto. The lo-wercutter, c, is held in place by two screw-clamps, 20, Fig. 11, and ismade adjustable vertically by a screw, 21. The upper cutter, f, issecured to its lever h by a clamping-screw, 22, and is made adjustablein the direction of its length by a setscrew, 01, passing through aprojection at the upper end of the lever.

The lower end of' this lever h is connected by a rod, k witha crank, l,secured to a long horizontal rock-shaft, Q, one end of which issupported in a bearing in the standard P, and the other end in abearing, m rising from the bed A; and when this shaft Q is rocked bymechanism to be hereinafter described the cutterf is carried down pastthe stationary entter a to sever the nail from the rod, after which itis returned to its normal position by the counter movement of the shaftQ.

When the nail is finished and ready to be severed from the nail-rod itis moved to one side out of the path of the vertical hammers and overthe stationary cutter 0 (just before the cutter f l is brought down) bythe movement of a lever, n, at the lower end of which is a circularopening, p, which serves as a guide for the nail-rod, which is fedthrough it by the wheels u, the side hammers being locked whileseparated to their full extent and held apart until the cutting off iscompleted by a stop-lever, q, Figs. 7 and 14, which is pivoted to theframe E, and is moved at the required time into a position to interceptthe hammer G by an arm, 23, the lower portion of which is secured to andcoiled around the rock-shaft Q, so as to form a spring. This spring-arm23 is held back out of contact with the lever q by a pin, 45, projectingfrom a collar on the shaft Q, and is only brought up against the lever qto cause the latter to intercept the side hammer G when the shaft Qisrocked; and by thus operating the stoplever by means of a spring-arminstead of a rigid one, it will yield in case it should from any causecome into contact with the hammer G before the proper time, and theliability of breakage or excessive friction is thus avoided.

The hammer H is provided with a project-- ing portion, 25, whichbearsagainst a corresponding projection, 26, on the hammer (l, and thus thelocking of the hammer (l, as above described, serves also to lock thehammer H, bot-h hammers being held apart until the arm 23 is withdrawnby the rocking of the shaft Q, so as to allow the lever q to drop downby its own weight out of the path of the hammer G. The lever a ispivoted at 27 to the upper end of a stationary curved arm, 1*,projecting up from the standard 1, am] is provided'with a pin, s, whichpasses through a slot in the upper end of a lever, t, the lower end ofwhich is pivoted to the standard 1. At the center of this lever t is acurved slot, 28, into which fits a pin, a, projecting from the outer endof a crank, 1 secured to the outer end of the shaft 18, and thus throughthe connections described, as the shaft 18 is rocked to depress thecutter-lever h, the guide-lever n, and with it the nail-rod, is moved toone side into line with the cutters just before the upper eutter,f, iscarried down past the cutter c, and assoon as the nail has been severedfrom the rod the lever n is returned to its original position, whichtakes place simultaneously with the ascent of the lever h The nail-rodis thus returned to its proper central position opposite the hammersimmediately after the nail has been severed and before being again fedforward, which prevents any liability of its-being crippled or bent bycontact with the cutters.

I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the number of blowsto which the nail is subjected previous to being cut 011' may be variedat the will of the operator.

a, Figs. 1 and 13, is an inclined arm, which is firmly secured to oneend of the rock-shaft N, and carries at its upper end a short tube orbearing, 6', in which slides a horizontal pin, 0', provided with a head,29, against which rests a flat spring, 30, the lower end of which isattached to an arm, 31, also secured to the shaft N, and forming aprolongation of the arm a. This shaft N is connected with the rock-shaftQ, so as to move simultaneously=.therewith, by a joint, 1t, composed oftwo short rods, 32 and v 33, Fig. 8, pivoted together and sliding inhollow arms 01 e, secured the former to the shaft N and the latter tothe shaft Q, and by this means the motion of one shaft is communicatedto the other with much less friction and wear than if segments ofbevel-gears were employed.

While the hammers are operating upon the nail-rod the pin 0 is held backin the position seen in Figs. 1 and 13 against the-resistance of thespring 30 by a curved lever, f Figs. 1 and 12, the flattened upper endof which-fits between the head 29 of the pin 0 and the end of thebearing 11.

The lever f is pivoted to a stationary arm, 34, and its lower end isprovided with a pin, which fits into a slot, 62, Fig. 12, in the uprightarm of a bent lever, g, which is pivoted to the bed A, the horizontalarm of this lever restin g on a pin, 75, projecting from the inner sideof a lever, h, which is pivoted to the bed,

A at 35, and is held up in the position seen in Figs. 1 and 12 by a flatspring, 36, which,

through the connections described, serves -to' keep the end of the leverf between the head of the pin and the bearing b.

At the outer end of the lever his a projection, 37, against which abutsthe-lower end of the arm 31, a latch being thus formed, by means ofwhich the shafts N and Q and meeh-- anism connected therewith are firmlylocked while the nail is being forged.

hen the upright arm of the lever g is pressed against the resistance ofthe'sprin'g- 36 by mechanism to be presently described, the leverf ismoved so as to withdraw its upper end from between the hearing I)and-the head 29, when the pin 0 is instantly thrown forward by thespring 30 until its head strikes against the bearin g b. This movementof the lever g causes its horizontal arm to press upon the pin 75,projecting from the inner side of the lever 11.", and depress the latteragainst the resistance of the spring 36, so as to unlock the latch, andthus leave the shafts N Q free to be moved. Immediately after the pin 0has been thrown forward by its spring 30 its inner end (which nowprojects out some distance from the inner end of the bearing b) isstruck by a cam, 38, on a wheel, S, secured to the driving-shaft B, andas this wheel revolves the cam moves the arm a, and thus rocks the shaftN, which advances the rod 1) and causes the friction-clutch A to take afresh hold on the collar a of the shaft 12. This movement of the shaft Nis communicated through the joint R to the shaft Q, and thus, throughthe connections described, the sidehammers are locked, the guide-leverit moved to one side, and the cutter f brought down to sever the nailfrom the rod. As soon as this has taken place a cam, i, on the oppositeside of the wheel S moves a pin, 7 6,-projecting from the upper end ofan arm, k, secured to the shaft N, and by means of this cam the shafts NQ are returned to their original positions, the counter movement of theshaft N and corresponding movement of the rodb causing thefriction-clutch A to turn the shaft 1; and wheels at so as to feed thenail-rod forward, as before described, while the counter movement of theshaft Q causes the spring-arm 23 to be withdrawn, so that the stop-leverwill drop down and unlock the side hammers, this dropping of thestop-lever q taking place in time to allow the side hammers to act intheir turn upon the nail-rod.

At the same time that the spring-arm 23 is withdrawn the cutter f israised and the guidedever n moved back, so as to return the nail-rod toits proper position between the feed-wheels u. Another cam, m, on thewheel S now comes into contact with the inner end of the pin 0, andforces it back against the resistance of the spring 30, in whichposition it is held (as the wheel S continues to revolve) by theconcentric portion of the cam m until the upper end of the lever f isthrown by the spring 36 between the head 29 and the bearing b, and thepin a is thus held back outof reach of the cam 38 until the lever f isagain tripped. This lever f is tripped or withdrawn when it is desiredto bring the above-described mechanism into action in the followingmanner: 0n the driving-shaft B is aworm, n, which engages with andslowly rotates a worm-wheel, 10, secured to the end of a horizontalshaft,

. g, which is supported in a long bearing, 60,

at the top of a standard rising from the bed A. To the outer end of theshaft g is secured a wheel, T, the periphery of which is provided on itsopposite edges with two sets orrows of teeth or projections, r s, theform of each tooth being that of a right-angled triangle. 1'

is a lever, which is pivoted at 39 to one side of the lever g, and isprovided at its upper end with an angular projection, 40, which extendsout into a position to be struck successively by the teeth r or s of thewheel T, and thus as the inclined side of a tooth comes into contactwith the inclined side of the projection 40 the lever g is pressed outfrom the periphery of the wheel T, and the lever f tripped to releasethe pin 0 as before described. As soon as the tooth of the wheel T haspassed out of contact with the projection 40 (which does not take placeuntil after the nail has been severed and the shafts N Qreturned totheir normal positions) the lever 9 is moved back to its .originalposition by the spring 36, which causes the lever f to catch and holdback the pin 0 until it is again tripped by the next succeeding tooth ofthe wheel T. This same movement of the lever 9 allows the lever h to beraised by the spring 36, so that its projection 37 will catch the end ofthe arm 31, and thus lock the shafts N Q, as required.

The lever t is provided with a handle, a", by which it can be moved onits pivot so as to bring its projection 40 opposite either series ofteeth r or s, the upper end of the lever being steadied and its motionlimited in either direction by a pin, which projects into a slot, 64, atthe upper end of the lever 9 (See Fig. 13.) When the lever t is inposition opposite either series of teeth it is held by a friction-pin,which is forced by a spring, 65, into a notch at either side of thelever these notches being rounded, so as to force back the pin whenpressure is applied to the handle a.

The outer teeth, 1*, are placed farther apart than the inner teeth, 8there being seven of the former and eight oftthe latter, while theworm-wheel p is provided with fifty-six teeth, it being absolutelynecessary that the number of the teeth of the wheel 11 should be acommon multiple of the numbers of the two series of teeth r s, in orderthat the movements of the several parts of the machine may be properlytimed with respect to each other, and all liability of interferenceavoided.

\Vhen the projection 40 of the lever t is in Q a position to be struckby the teeth 1 the nail will be subjected to the action of the hammersduring eight revolutions of the driving-shaft B; but, if it should befound that this number of blows draws out the nail too much, owing tothe nail-rod being too hot, it is simply necessary to move the lever tby means of its handle o while the machine is in operation, so as tobring the projection 40 opposite to the teeth .8 which will cause thenail to be subjected to the action of the hammers during sevenrevolutions only of the driving-shaft, while if the heat of the nail-rodshould become lessened, so that seven revolutions would not produce anail of sufficient length, the lever t can be instantly moved back toincrease the number of blows of the hammers.

It will be seen that a "ariation of one revolution only can be made, asabove described; but this change in the number of blows of the hammersis suflicient for all practical purposes when the heat of the iron isnearly uniform;

but the wheel T may be removed and another substituted having adifferent combination of teeth; but in such case aworm-gear, 12 must beemployed, the number of whose teeth is the common multiple of thenumbers of the two series of teeth on the wheel T. For instance, thewheel T may have five teeth on one edge and six teeth on the other, inwhich case the wheel 10 would be provided with thirty teeth; and by thismeans I am enabled to regulate the number of blows according to the heatof the nail-rod with such accuracy as to insure the formation of aperfect nail.

It is evident that the wheel T may be provided with more than two seriesof teeth without departing from the spirit of my invention; but aworm-wheel, 12 must in such case be employed the number of whose teethis the common multiple of the numbers of the several series of teeth onthe wheel T.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The stop-lever q, operated by the springarm 23 on the shaft Q, incombination with the side hammers, provided with the projecting portions25 and 26, the said stop-lever locking the side hammers While open andholding them apart while the nail is being cut off, substantially asherein described.

2. The guide-lever n, with its pin 8 slotted lever t pin u, and crank eoperated by the shaft Q, in combination with the hammers and thecutters, substantially as described.

3. The mechanism for varying the number of blows of the hammers,consisting, essentially, of the toothed wheel T, levers t g f pin 0 withits spring 30, arm a, connected shafts N Q, cam-wheel S, and arm in,operating substantially as set forth.

4. The wheel T, having two or more series of teeth, 1' 8 for setting inoperation the mechanism for varying the number of blows of the hammers,in combination with and operated by a wheel, 1), the number of the teethof which is a common multiple of the numbers of the different series ofteeth on the wheel T, substantially as described.

5. Thecombination of the hammers with the mechanism for varying thenumbers of their blows, the guide-lever 11 and its operative mechanism,and the cutters, substantially as described.

6. The shafts N Q, connected by ajoint, 1t, composed of the rods 32 and33, pivoted together, and sliding within hollow arms (1 a, substantiallyas described.

7. The lever 9 in combination with the lever h, with its pin 75,projection 37, and spring 36, and the shaft N, with its arm 31., allconstructed to operate substantially in the manner and for the purposeset forth.

8. The hammers G H I K, having their faces so formed as to allow thenail being made on one side of and below a line passing centrallybetween the four hammers, the hammers G II being so constructed andarranged as to meet on a lineon one side of a vertical plane passingrolls, guide-lever, and cutters, substantialiy as through the center ofthe upper and lower described. hammers, and the hammers I K meeting on aWitness my hand this 25th day of May, A. lilne below a lti orizontalgame passing th'ough D. 1877.

t c centers 0 the side ammers in or er to reduce to a minimum theamouiit which the SILAS T nail-rod is bent in the operations of bringingIn presence ofit into line with the cutters and severing the P. E.TESCHEMACHER,

nail therefrom, in combination with the feed- A N. W. STEARNS.

